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Super Hero Brain Power…

IMG_7098Super heroes unite!  During rally this morning, our own LME Super Heroes made a special appearance to remind our friends about the courage and kindness all around us.  From our Teddy Bear Drive to the smart work of our teachers, we are ready to use our Super Hero Brain power with courage and kindness.  IMG_7109We also worked on our Super Hero stance…you know…feet apart, hands on hips, chin out, and face up in a courageous thoughtful smile.  Our teachers received a little “grade” on their Super Hero progress too.

In other news, don’t forget about state assessment next week.  We will be closed to visitors and volunteers in order to maintain testing and campus security with minimal distractions.

Get outside and use your Super Hero powers to better the world today; enJOY this extraordinary spring weekend!  🙂

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Seussical, Jr.

drseussDoes Horton hear a Who?  Do you like Green Eggs and Ham?  Can you think thinks (but only if you think you can)?  These and other Seussical questions were explored by our first grade friends today as they presented their delightfully clever musical, Seussical, Jr., for our students this morning and our parents this evening!  Under the creative direction of our own Mrs. Perez (masterful music teacher extraordinaire), our young friends sang, rhymed, and danced their way through the magical world of Dr. Seuss.  Their enthusiasm, smiles, and brilliant expressions assured us all “it’s possible; anything is possible.”  More important, and please just remember, “a person’s a person no matter how small!”  🙂

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MEF, PTO, and BBB…way to go!

grant1As is our Friday tradition, Miller Rally this morning brought not one but two big monetary surprises our way!  The Midlothian Education Foundation came to Rally bearing two grant gifts for “Start Your Senses” and “Headsprout”  Our Sensory Room will receive new functional equipment to enhance our social and motor skills for students with special needs to “start their senses” flowing.  Our Kinder and 1st grade friends will use new technology equipment and software to supplement (sprout) and further grow their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.  We are so grateful to MEF for their continued encouragement and financial support of our innovative instructional ideas!

Some of our industrious PTO moms, Mrs. Walk, Mrs. Prather, and Mrs. Blackmon, rolled through the hallways of LME today with treats for teachers as part of their ongoing Cart Appreciation Day events throughout the year.  Teachers chose salty and sweet snacks along with a beverage to enJOY.  Thanks, PTO, for ALL you do to support our work and programs at LME!

BBB1Our Bluebonnet Book Bowl Team celebrated their smart work last night and during Rally this morning (showing off their medals).  By reading the books on this year’s Bluebonnet List, these industrious learners then answered a series of intense questions about the books as a team.  Down to the last question and in a final tie-breaker between our two campuses, the big trophy went to our friends at Longbranch Elementary.  Congrats to ALL our MISD elementary BBB Teams for their passion for reading and sharing great books with others!

Please keep sending those new stuffed animals (bears and other animal accepted) as part of our March service learning project at LME under the direction of our KC Club; we appreciate your support for others in medical need.

Have a restful first-of-spring weekend!  🙂

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KC Club’s Teddy Bear Drive!

TeddyBear (3)Are you looking for a special way to give back to someone in need today?  As part of their community service learning project, our outstanding LME Kindness and Compassion Club are collecting brand-new medium-sized teddy bears during the month of March for patients at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas.  These bears are used in the Teddy Bear Clinic where patients are given a bear to go through triage, radiology, IV, X-Ray, procedures, and surgical areas designed for each child.  This allows Child-Life Specialists to provide age-appropriate information with the bear while preparing a child emotionally for invasive procedures and surgery.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our campus to provide comfort to a child going through challenging medical circumstances.  We invite you to participate by sending a NEW teddy bear to school any school day during the month of March.  Ms. Daniell, KC Club sponsor, is located in the first grade hallway.  Thanks for sharing your kindness and compassion with others in medical need (many of whom are our current learners at LME).  🙂

…and…

shamrockcookiesMay there always be work for your hands to do; may your purse always hold a coin or two.  May the sun always shine on your windowpane; may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.  May the hand of a friend always be near you, and may your heart fill with JOY to always cheer you!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  🙂

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…and we’re back!

SeedsofSuccessHere’s hoping Spring Break brought rest, fun, and lots of learning (in other ways) along with lots of outside play in the sunshine (when it decided to shine).  We missed everyone and welcomed all back this morning to get these last 12 weeks underway!

There is a Van Am Gram coming home this week with lots of dates for our remaining upcoming school events.

We invite you to read more about our upcoming MISD event called Camp Invention.  Camp Invention is where BIG ideas become the next BIG thing! Midlothian ISD educators lead a week of hands-on activities created especially for elementary school children.  Students in rising grades 1st – 6th grades spend time disassembling electronics to create something new and taking part in high-energy games!  Lessons explore connections between science, technology and innovation. Created by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Camp Invention is the only nationally recognized summer program focused on creativity, innovation, real-world problem solving and the spirit of invention.  Download flyer. Register Online  We hope you’ll make plans now for your child to attend from June 22-26!

Happy Spring and Welcome Back, LME!  🙂

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Is it Spring yet?

Is it Spring yet?  This is the hopeful question of the day as we watched the last of the big snow melt!  Several young friends discussed the possibilities while talking about plans for the upcoming break next week.  They also reminded everyone to SPRING forward this weekend back into daylight savings time.

Spring-BreakHere’s hoping everyone enJOYs the time away, finds fun in all possibilities, and gets some rest to gear up for our final 12 weeks of the 2014-15 school year.  Time is sure flying!  Be safe and see you on March 16th!  🙂

Note:  MISD is closed March 9 – 13 for Spring Break.

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What’s your super power today?

We all have gifts to share with each other; some of us just open our packages sooner than others.  🙂

Sarah Super HeroSuper Heroes have powers; some for good and some for not-so-good ventures.  During the course of conversations this morning during walk-about, several students shared their ideas from our big Super Hero Day yesterday when we celebrated the Science and Math of Super Heroes.  With help from Mr. Jerry DeCaire of Marvel Comics, students participated in creative process from conception to final comic book story product.  Mr. DeCaire is responsible for drawing the likenesses of Thor, X-Men, Wolverine, Avengers, Hawkeye, and more over the years.  Class Super HeroWorking closely with writers who create the storyline, he in turn draws realistic comic characters using math and science (really!) to create the action you see in the final product.  It’s a truly fascinating process.  More importantly (and fun fact), comic artists continue to create by hand (and not with cutting-edge technology as you might think) because human hands work faster than computer models currently allow.

superhero1Students today took the knowledge they gleaned from yesterday’s presentation to create their own concepts of super heroes–drawings and story lines.  As one little friend shared with me, “My super power today and is drawing and writing; so what’s your super power, Ms. Van?” 🙂

Here’s hoping our little super heroes never lose sight of the many extraordinary gifts and powers they have, opening and sharing them when they are ready to do so!  What’s YOUR super power today?

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Green eggs and rhymes and fun…oh my!

Brylee Thing 1 and Emily Cat in the HatAs part of National Read Across America Day (through the National Education Association) and the celebration of special birthday, LME dressed in our Seussical best today!  From the Sam I Am and the Cat in the Hat to Thing 1 and Thing 2, we read, sang, and acted out scenes from some of our favorite Beginner Books in the magical world of Dr. Seuss.

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904.  Best known as an American writer and cartoonist, he wrote and published 46 children’s books. His clever books are often characterized by an imaginative cast of friends, lots of rhyme, and frequent use of poetic meter.  Beginning readers LOVE his whimsical, fun passages and important life lessons.

greeneggs2Our cafe even got into the spirit serving green eggs and greeneggs1ham as an entree choice today!  Thanks to Ms. Pat and her crew for bringing fun to our food!

Our first grade friends started preparations for their upcoming program, Seussical Jr., on Thursday, March 26th; please join us for a fun evening!

We have a busy week ahead too:

Tuesday:  Science of the Superhero Day!  Dress as a super hero and be ready to learn about the art of animation with Marvel Comic Book artist, Jerry Declaire.

Wednesday:  Warm Up to Writing in your warm ups today.

Friday:  3M Day – Marvelous Miller Math Day where we do all things math today!

Spring Break is March 9 – 13, 2015; enJOY this time away to play!

Thanks for participating and sharing the love of learning with us throughout the year!  In the words of Dr. Seuss:  “Today you are you, that is truer than true; there is no one alive who is youer than you!” 

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They have a dream…

IMG_6831Our second grade friends presented a moving multimedia tribute this evening called “I Have A Dream.”  Under the direction of our extraordinary music teacher, Mrs. Perez, these learners shared a vision from our country’s past, our  current situation, and their hopeful future as citizens of our growing nation.  From historical video footage of speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Oprah Winfrey, to leading Civil Rights leaders and historians sharing stories from the Freedom Train and Selma, our students talked and sang about our need to truly live as “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all…” 

Special thanks to our Specials Team IMG_6832(who ALWAYS create memorable fine arts experiences for every child at LME each year)!  Thanks to our second grade team of classroom leaders who support this work with research, extra practice time, and lots of encouragement along the way!  Bravos ‘e Bravas to these young learners who walk the talk at such a young age, teaching the generations within our audience this evening the true meaning of hopes and dreams!  🙂

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Survey says…

STUDENT Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/misdstudent2015

PARENT Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/misdparent2015

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thoughtfulwordsMidlothian ISD parents are encouraged to complete an anonymous online survey to share their perceptions and input regarding MISD. Part of the 83rd Texas Legislature House Bill 5 requires all districts to evaluate the district and individual campus’ performance based on community and student engagement. This bill allows school districts to showcase areas of excellence and success outside the limited scope of standardized test scores. It is also an opportunity for staff to recognize areas that need improvement in the future and to celebrate the good things happening in our school.

The nine factors evaluated include fine arts, wellness and physical education, community and parental involvement, 21st century workforce development program, second language acquisition program, digital learning environment, dropout prevention strategies, educational programs for GT students and compliance with statutory reporting and policy requirements. All school districts and campuses are required to assign a performance rating of Exemplary, Recognized, Acceptable, or Unacceptable for overall performance.

[ https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/misdparent2015 ]
We encourage all our parents to take the 2015 parent survey which ends Thursday, February 26. Thanks!